Using php I authenticate a user, then behind the scenes,they are then again authenticated a second time with a single .htaccess username & password. This would be the same for all users, but I would not want them to have to enter a username and password again and they would now be allowed to enter the password protected directory. I prefer not to use http://username@password:somedomain.com.
Any thoughts?
You should not do this.
Either:
Add code to your .htaccess protected directory to use your PHP authentication scheme and remove the .htaccess authentication.
Write a new PHP page/script through which your authenticated users will access all of the protected content. Move the protected content out of the web root, or use your .htaccess file to deny all access. Your script will be able to access the files, but users will have to go through the script to access them.